The Silver Ink

Sunday, January 17, 2021
Log in
  • United States & World
  • Techie
  • Business & Company News
  • Discovery
  • Lifestyle

Pages

  • About The Silver Ink
  • Advertising
  • Contact US
  • Investor Relations
  • Our Team
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Sec Disclosure
  • Terms of Use

Recent Posts

  • David The Puzzle Man Butler Uses His Newfound Hobby to Help Community June 29, 2018
  • Diamond Thief Arrested in Chicago Days After Stealing $133,000 Worth of Precious Stones June 29, 2018
  • Colorado Goth Metal Band Founder Stabs Homeless Person to Death in Back Alley June 28, 2018
  • Irate South Carolina Woman Cusses Out Black Teens at Pool, Assaults Sheriff’s Deputy June 27, 2018
  • Georgia Couple Arrested For Keeping Mentally Challenged Daughter Locked Inside Room for Months June 27, 2018
  • Washington Man Paralyzed After Run-in With Gun-Toting Carjacker June 26, 2018
  • Autistic Boy Admitted to Emergency Room After Being Impaled By A Plank of Wood June 25, 2018

Rosetta Is Trying to Reach Estranged Philae

January 11, 2016 By Doyle Buehler Leave a Comment

"Philae and Rosetta spacecrafts"

Rosetta has until the end of January to try and bring Philae home.

Last year the Space Agency from Europe (ESA) successfully managed to land a spacecraft on the surface of a planet. Now, Rosetta is trying to reach estranged Philae, the comet lander that is currently on the surface of the comet designated as 67P.

Because the last time when Philae was active was last July, scientists at the ESA are growing nervous. As time passes by and no contact is made, chances that the piece of technology will be forever lost greatly increase.

An operations manager, Cinzia Fantinati, from the Philae control team at the Center of German Aerospace, says that there is a slight possibility that the comet lander could be brought back home. This could be accomplished if the Rosetta spacecraft manages to reach the landing craft.

In order for Rosetta to establish contact with estranged Philae, the landing craft must first be cleansed of the dust that has accumulated on it since its landing on the 67P comet. This operation will prove to be a bit tricky since a couple of systems are faulty on the Philae, and others are plain unresponsive.

The experts from the Center of German Aerospace think that they can clean Philae’s solar panels by powering up the momentum wheel and sending a spin command to it. This would do the trick in cleaning the large amounts of space dust. The wheel in question was used as a stabilizer at the moment of the craft’s descent on the 67P comet.

When the landing craft will be clean, the solar panels would be able to align themselves and take advantage of the Sun’s position. This is a mission with a limited time-frame, though since the researchers have predicted that the comet will only remain in a charging distance from the sun until the end of this January. If the Philae is not recovered until then, it will be lost forever.

At the moment, the temperature is high enough for the craft to take flight, but if the comet distances itself more from the Sun, the cold will affect the equipment irreparably. Hopes lie in the fact that Philae is only to dusty to be able to charge himself and send additional data. Stephan Ulamec, one of the members of the team which monitors the craft, hopes that it is not tilted, thus impossible to be recovered.

A representative from the French Space Agency, Philippe Gaudon, says the landing craft is already lost and any other attempt made by the team is futile.

The mission Rosetta is trying to reach estranged Philae one last time this January. After that, the spacecraft, which is predicted to function until September, will be brought home.

Image sorce: www.wikimedia.org

Filed Under: Science Tagged With: Comet 67P Churyumov Gerasimenko, European Space Agency, phIlae lander, Rosetta Comet probe mission

ESA images suggest probable landing sites of Philae

June 13, 2015 By Kyle Mills Leave a Comment

philae landerScientists have been searching for Philae lander ever since the robotic probe lost power after landing on Comet 67P in November 2014.

To find the final landing place of the Philae lander, researchers have been looking at the images sent to Earth by the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft as well as variety of data, which include magnetic field and radio wave measurement.

Now the efforts of the researchers have helped them narrow down the probable area of landing the Philae to just one part of the comet.

It is now believed that Philae landed in a shady area where there is not enough of light to fully charge the spacecraft causing the lander to shut down after 60 hours on the comets surface.

Based on the radio signals sent between the lander and Rosette, ESA reported that the Philae could be in the ellipse about 16×160 meters long and wide just outside the rim of a large depression on the comet’s head known as Hatmehit.

ESA said, “Combining data on the signal travel time between the two spacecraft with the known trajectory of Rosetta and the current best shape model for the comet, the CONSERT team have been able to establish the location of Philae to within an ellipse roughly 16 x 160 metres in size, just outside the rim of the Hatmehit depression.”

ESA also said that while the ellipse is currently the best estimate of the probable location of the lander based on a number of simulations, work is still ongoing to quantify the statistical likelihood of the probe inside this region.

ESA also said that the ellipse’s location depends on the assumed shape of Comet 67P, which is constantly being refined so there could still be possible revisions of the ellipse’s positioning.

The location can also be identified if the lander receives sufficient solar power to wake it up from its current state of hibernation.  Comet 67P is now about 218 million km from the sun.

The probe can then resume studying the comet and scientists could by then perform additional measurements that could help determine the location of the lander after its bouncy landing on the comet’s surface.

Scientists hope that it will wake up soon from its slumber and starts to transmit signals to Rosetta once the comet gets closer to sun in the coming weeks or months.

Filed Under: Discovery Tagged With: Comet 67P, ESA, lander lost contact, phIlae lander, Rosetta

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 24 other subscribers

first humans who arrived in North America

First Humans Arrived In North America 10000 Years Earlier

January 17, 2017 By Dave Smith Leave a Comment

gold coin

Rare Gold Coin Found In a Toy Pirate Treasure

October 27, 2016 By Kyle Mills Leave a Comment

clothing material

Air conditioning could be replaced with clothing material that keeps you cool

September 2, 2016 By Carrie Davis Leave a Comment

proxima centauri star

Scientific Breakthrough – Habitable Planet near Proxima Centauri

August 27, 2016 By Dave Smith Leave a Comment

USS independence

Deep Sea Exploration Of World War II Vessel

August 23, 2016 By Dave Smith Leave a Comment

statue of Zeus

Ancient Zeus Sacrifice Skeleton Found In Greece

August 12, 2016 By Dave Smith Leave a Comment

white robot

Robot Exoskeleton Could Improve Life Of The Disabled

August 11, 2016 By Dave Smith Leave a Comment

Bird Fossil Holds Answers to Life After Dinosaurs

October 30, 2015 By Dave Smith Leave a Comment

Polar Bears Are Slowly Dying Due to Climate Change

September 17, 2015 By Stephanie James Leave a Comment

Study Shows Birds Also Fall in Love

September 15, 2015 By Jeff Suchon Leave a Comment

Man-made Climate Change Produces the Highest Temperatures Ever

September 14, 2015 By Dave Smith Leave a Comment

Researchers Discover Why Sweetgrass Is An Efficient Insect Repellent

August 19, 2015 By Jeff Suchon Leave a Comment

The Drinkable Book Could Be The Easiest Way To Clean Water

August 18, 2015 By Jeff Suchon Leave a Comment

Study Reveals Venomous Frogs Are More Dangerous Than Pit Vipers

August 8, 2015 By Kyle Mills Leave a Comment

Categories

  • Automotive & Aviation Industry
  • Business & Company
  • Capital Markets
  • Discovery
  • entertainment
  • Health
  • IT & Diversified Sector
  • Lifestyle
  • Nature
  • Science
  • Techie
  • Uncategorized
  • United States & World
  • World

Copyright © 2021 thesilverink.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Contact

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more.